Down and out, tired seamen who appear to have no alternative rest on an urban park bench late at night in this drawing by merchant seaman and illustrator Harold Price. Price created powerful graphic images for the Education Department of the NMU, including this one from the booklet “Know the Score,” written by union founder and president Joseph Curran. Much of Price’s life in the years after he completed this work is a mystery, but we do know he shipped out as a merchant seaman from 1935–1945.

“Know the Score,” printed in June 1945, is a masterpiece of graphic design. The drawings make the experiences of the seamen in the 1920s come to life, driving home the desperate need for the National Maritime Union.

See more of Price’s drawings in Why Unions? Art From the National Maritime Union.